Desperado

A direct sequel to 1992’s El Mariachi, Desperado follows Antonio Banderas’ title figure as he arrives in a small Mexican town hoping to murder the man (Joaquim de Almeida’s Bucho) responsible for his girlfriend’s death – with complications ensuing as the protagonist finds himself falling for a local store owner (Salma Hayek’s Carolina) trapped under Bucho’s thumb. Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, working with a substantially higher budget than El Mariachi‘s $7000, does a superb job of immediately drawing the viewer into the proceedings and recapping the events of the original movie, and it’s clear, certainly, that Banderas steps into the role created by Carlos Gallardo with an ease that’s often nothing short of breathtaking – with the actor’s charismatic work here remaining a highlight even through the narrative’s sporadic lulls. (There’s little doubt that Desperado has no business running a second over 90 minutes, ultimately.) The copious action sequences are as engrossing and gleefully over-the-top as one might’ve hoped, while Rodriguez does an effective job of peppering the proceedings with a handful of random yet exceedingly welcome digressions (including, and especially, Quentin Tarantino’s one-scene turn as an ill-fated courier). By the time the thrilling, violent finale rolls around, Desperado has confirmed its place as a solid followup that mostly lives up to the promise offered by its rough-around-the-edge predecessor.

*** out of ****

Leave a comment